According to the Mountain Mail, a norovirus outbreak at a Subway sandwich shop in Buena Vista, Colorado has sickened at least 20 people. The illnesses occurred in mid-November 2014. Chaffee County Public Health was contacted by five people claiming illness after eating at the restaurant.
Samples from five patients tested positive for norovirus. Most of the patients were students at Buena Vista High School. One employee from the restaurant reported being ill. That employee most likely caused the contamination, according to Victor Crocco, Chaffee County Environmental Health Manager.
No more cases have been reported since November 20, 2014. The restaurant was not closed after the outbreak, but was cited for three "noncritical" violations. Workers at the restaurant cleaned all surfaces … [Read more...]

The Rio Grande County Public Health Department says a food poisoning outbreak has occurred among attendees at the 9Health Fair in Monte Visto, Colorado, on April 5, 2014. The food was supplied by the Kiwanis Club, according to 9News. Public health officials are investigating the outbreak to try to determine the cause.
Samples have been taken and were sent to the state laboratory. Results are expected early next week. About 30 people have been sickened in the outbreak, including participants and volunteers at the event.
The illnesses appear to be contained to people who attended the health fair. There is no word on the symptoms people are experiencing. When the results come back, the public will be informed. The people who were in charge of the fair will be given information about … [Read more...]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is at the center of a government investigation of an outbreak of E. coli infections in the Denver area associated with sandwich food from Jimmy John's restaurants. The FDA's involvement in tracing the origins of the outbreak has to do with the agency's food safety mandate over fresh produce. Alicia Cronquist, an epidemiologist for the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, has said the leading hypothesis over what made people sick revolves around a batch of contaminated fresh produce of some kind.
Dave Steigman, an FDA spokesman, told The Packer, a respected industry trade publication, that field investigators hope to know more about the source by the end of this week. The probe has centered on three Jimmy John's sandwich locations in … [Read more...]

Anthrax has killed one cow and is suspected to have killed 50 others on a Logan County ranch in Colorado, according to the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA). The ranch has been quarantined. None of the cattle left the location prior to quarantine or entered the food chain.
CDA and public health officials are conducting an ongoing investigation, monitoring the people, cattle, and equipment that may have come into contact with anthrax. "Our focus is on the potential for human exposure," Dr. Tony Cappello, district public health administrator for the Northeast Colorado Health Department, said in a statement. "We are currently conducting our own public health investigation and contacting individuals that have been involved with the livestock. Anthrax is not spread from person to … [Read more...]

Jensen Farms, the source of the 2011 cantaloupe Listeria outbreak that killed 35 people and sickened a total of 146 people in 38 states, has filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code.
Documents filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver on May 25, show that the farm, based Holly, Colorado, which earned about $5 million a year in 2009, 2010 and 2011, has between 50 and 99 creditors and faces seven personal injury lawsuits and 12 wrongful death suits.
The farm’s total assets are estimated to be between $1 million and $10 million while its total liabilities are estimated to be between $10 million and $50 million. Eric S. Jensen is listed as president of ESJ Inc., and general partner.
The cantaloupe Listeria outbreak linked to the farm was one of … [Read more...]

It’s the start of a new cantaloupe growing season in Colorado where producers will plant about 2 million acres of the melon with the hope that consumer confidence has rebounded after a Listeria outbreak last year sickened 146 people and killed 35.
Last fall, growers from the region met with Colorado Agriculture Commissioner John Salazar to discuss how to recover from the outbreak fallout.
The Rocky Ford region of Colorado is the birthplace of the U.S. cantaloupe industry. Farmers have been growing Rocky Ford cantaloupes - known for their especially sweet taste, for 120 years. Together with Pueblo county, Rocky Ford produces the bulk of the state’s cantaloupe which, in 2010, generated about $8 million in sales, according to the Colorado Agricultural Statistics Service.
For more … [Read more...]